TAC-CS DIGITAL SOLUTIONS INCUBATOR 2022 PROGRAM GUIDELINES
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TAC-CS DIGITAL SOLUTIONS INCUBATOR
2022 PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Application deadline: April 14, 2022
TAC is committed to equity and inclusion. We welcome and encourage applications from all Toronto
artists, arts organizations and artist collectives. Specific equity measures or targeted programs are in place
to ensure full access and participation by Black Artists, Indigenous artists, artists of colour, artists who are
Deaf, have disabilities or are living with mental illness, artists who self-identify as 2SLGBTQIAP, newcomer
and refugee artists, young and emerging artists and artists working outside the downtown core. Learn more
about what we are doing to make TAC more accessible and inclusive in our Equity Framework.
What does this program support?
This program was created through a partnership between TAC and The Creative School at Ryerson
University (formerly the Faculty of Communications and Design) to encourage arts organizations to
consider the creative possibilities unlocked using technology and design thinking. The partnership provides
arts organizations with access to student expertise, to explore solutions to the challenges they face; the
students receive practical, hands-on projects as part of the Ryerson Design Solutions Super Course. The
Super Course is an educational experience that challenges students from different programs to work with
external partners to conceive and develop solutions using a design thinking process.
Emphasis is placed on projects that:
• Address organizational challenges within the arts sector using digital-enabled approaches.
• Facilitate collaborative and unexpected solutions with the potential to benefit the arts sector.
• Provide arts organizations and artist collectives access to design and technological expertise.
• Enhance organizational capacity in the arts sector around digital technology
For the purposes of this grant, “digital” refers to any user-centered design process involving significant use
of mobile, web, augmented/virtual reality, or computer-based technology.
The grant amount is $15,000. As a guideline, please plan for approximately $10,000 in fees for the project
leads and $5,000 for any materials and expenses related directly to the project. This grant is not intended
to fund office computers, production equipment or any general operating expenses.
Successful proposals will articulate a challenge or pose a question pertaining to a current organizational
challenge. The identified challenge may pertain to any aspect of operations including programming,
administration, outreach, marketing, etc. Applications must acknowledge the relevance of their identified
challenge to other members of their community, other arts organizations or the arts sector as a whole.
Organizational leadership (if different than project leads) must be actively involved in the project, attending,
and participating when appropriate.
The goal is to address a significant organizational challenge through digital technologies and creative
design skills, in whatever form is appropriate. We are seeking to foster innovative ideas for the creation of
new capacity within Toronto arts organizations and collectives. The goal of this program is not to develop
company websites, digital content or build digital communications plans for the applicant organizations.
TAC Accessibility grant
Projects involving Deaf artists and artists with disabilities may apply for an additional TAC grant by
completing the Accessibility Expenses section of the application and including the requisite information in
their budget. A TAC Accessibility grant will provide up to a maximum of $5,000 towards accessibility costs
1for artists incurred during the project. Accessibility costs include but are not limited to: ASL interpretation,
audio description, closed captioning, communications assistants, attendant care (including helpers for
Elders), support workers and equipment rentals or other supports required to meet artists' accessibility
needs).
When can the project happen?
The TAC-CS DSI funds an 8-month experience between September and April. The program is divided into
two stages, corresponding with academic semesters.
First Stage: From September to December, successful applicant organizations will work 10-15 hours a
month, meeting regularly with a team of Ryerson Design Solutions Super Course 1 students to address
their identified problem, with the aim of creating a prototype of the proposed solution. The prototype will be
shared with the wider community during a “demo day” at CS which the whole team will attend.
Second Stage: From January to April, successful applicant organizations will continue in one of two ways:
1) Design Solutions Super Course 2: Teams selected to continue with Super Course 2 will have a
chance to further develop their prototype with CS students.
2) Self-directed: Teams may be asked to continue development of their prototype with a partner of
their choosing or on their own, independent of Ryerson CS.
Successful applicants are required to sign an agreement with CS before beginning the project and attend a
program evaluation meeting to be scheduled in 2023. Please see Appendix A for a description of the
Design Solutions Super Course, past projects, and terms of intellectual property.
Who can apply?
All applicants are encouraged to contact Strategic Programs Manager, Liza Mattimore, before applying.
• To apply to this program, applicants must be either an incorporated non-profit arts organization
or an unincorporated artist collective operating on a not-for-profit basis.
• A collective is defined as two or more artists working together under a group name, either on a
single project or on an ongoing basis.
• Organizations and collectives must be located in the City of Toronto. A Post Office Box address
cannot be used to meet this requirement. Organizations with a regional Toronto office must
have operated in the City of Toronto for at least one year prior to the deadline.
• For collectives of two artists, both must be City of Toronto residents. For collectives of more
than two artists, the majority of members must be City of Toronto residents.
• Artists must be professional. A professional artist is someone who has developed their skills
through training and/or practice; is recognized as such by artists working in the same artistic
tradition; actively practices her/his/their art; seeks payment for her/his/their work; and has a
history of public presentation.
• TAC recognizes that due to systemic barriers within the broader arts community (e.g. limited
mainstream presentation opportunities for artists from equity-seeking communities) that some
flexibility may be required in interpreting eligibility criteria to take into account equivalent
professional experience and contexts. Potential applicants from equity-seeking communities are
encouraged to discuss their eligibility with the Program Manager in advance of submitting an
application.
• Applicants may receive a grant through the TAC-CS DSI only once every two years.
• Applicants who have already received or applied for both Discipline and Strategic Funding from
TAC in 2022 are still eligible to apply to this program.
• If Ryerson faculty or staff (full or part-time) are employed by/members of your organization or
collective, you are not eligible to apply.
2This Program does not fund:
• Activities included in TAC operating grants
• Activities included in other TAC project grants
• Capital projects or expenses
• Renovations or repairs
• Research or feasibility studies
• Projects previous funded through another TAC grant
• How do I apply?
Applicants register and submit the application through TAC Grants Online (https://tac.smartsimple.ca).
Applications must be submitted no later than 11:59 pm on the deadline dates. TAC does not accept
applications by any other means of delivery. You will receive a confirmation email when your application is
submitted. Check your spam/junk mail folder if it doesn’t arrive in your in-box.
Application Accessibility Support For Deaf Persons Or Persons With Disabilities
Applicants who are Deaf or have a disability and need support to complete their grant applications can
apply for funds to cover the costs of assistance from Application Support Service Providers. Up to $500 is
available per eligible applicant in each calendar year. Please contact your Grant Program Manager at least
six weeks before the grant program deadline to determine eligibility, request application support funding,
and to review the process for payment to be made to your Service Provider. Requests for application
support require approval from the Grant Program Manager.
What do I need to prepare?
The main part to the application is the Project Description
The Project Description asks applicants to summarize the challenge they are facing and the impact a
possible solution could have on the wider arts community. Statements and bios from the Project Leads are
also required.
How is my application assessed?
This is a competitive program. Applicants should be aware that meeting the general eligibility requirements
does not guarantee that a grant will be recommended.
Funds are awarded on a competitive basis by an independent review panel of peers. Peer assessors are
practicing professional artists and arts workers selected based on their familiarity with and specialized
expertise in a broad spectrum of artistic practices and to reflect the range of applicants and represent
diverse mediums, genders, and cultural communities. A representative from Ryerson University’s Creative
School is also included on the panel. The grant review panel’s recommendations are approved by TAC
Directors.
The grant review panel evaluates all eligible applications in a comparative context and makes funding
decisions based on the availability of funds, the program objectives, and the following assessment criteria:
• The capacity of the applicant to undertake the project.
• The potential of the project to benefit the applicant organization and the Toronto arts sector.
• The suitability of the project leads to the project
• The extent to which the project will help the applicant to better use, interact with and gain
confidence working with digital technologies.
Included in TAC’s Equity Framework is an Equity Priority Policy, which states that if there are multiple
well-assessed applications of equal merit in an adjudication round but insufficient funds in the grants
budget to support all deserving candidates, applications proposed by applicants that self-identify as
belonging to one of Toronto Arts Council’s equity priority groups will be prioritized.
3Decisions of the grant review panel are final.
How do I find out the application results?
TAC will send you an email when the results are available and you will log in to TAC Grants Online to
receive the results. Notification will be received within four months of the deadline date.
What do I do when I have completed the project?
Recipients are required to file a final report on their project. The final report is filled out and submitted
online, just like the application. Future applications will not be accepted unless reports on previous funding
have been received and approved by TAC.
What are the rules or requirements for this funding?
• Successful applicants will receive a Letter of Understanding. The Letter of Understanding will
detail the terms and conditions of the funding. The Letter of Understanding must be signed and
uploaded to TAC Grants Online before funding can be released. The Letter of Understanding
also describes situations that would require grant repayment.
• Grant recipients are required to acknowledge the support of Toronto Arts Council in all written
materials relating to the activities for which funds are granted. The TAC logo is available on our
website; specifications for the size and placement of the logo should be commensurate with
that of other donors or sponsors that have provided similar financial support. In lieu of the logo,
the recipient may use the phrase “produced with the support of the City of Toronto through
Toronto Arts Council.”
• Toronto Arts Council has moved to electronic payments. If your application is approved, you
will be required to enter the bank account information of the grant recipient that corresponds to
the Applicant Name on your Notification Letter. Bank information is submitted along with your
Letter of Understanding and other Notification Letter Requirements.
• The City of Toronto requires that all organizations and individuals adopt a policy of non-
discrimination as a condition of receiving a grant from the City. All successful applicants will be
required to submit a signed Declaration of Compliance with Anti-Harassment/Discrimination
Legislation and City Policy. A copy of the following City documents can be downloaded from
reference documents page on TAC’s website: Anti-Racism, Access and Equity Policy
Guidelines, Hate Activity Policy and Procedures and Human Rights and Harassment Policy and
Procedures.
• TAC staff attends client performances and events. Grant recipients are required to send TAC
information on any public performances or events presented in the context of their grant-
supported projects. This information should be emailed to the Grant Program Manager.
• In addition to the aforementioned general conditions of funding, TAC reserves the right to place
other conditions on the release of the grant (such as confirmation of venue, programming, other
sources of funding, etc.). Any specific conditions will be contained in the Letter of
Understanding.
Further questions
Contact Liza Mattimore
Strategic Programs Manager
416-392-6802 extension 231,
liza@torontoartscouncil.org
4APPENDIX A:
What is the Ryerson CS Design Solutions Super Course?
In the Design Solutions Super Course, multi-discliplinary teams of students work on real-world problems
presented by industry and community partners in a practice-based, knowledge-building environment.
Working across disciplinary boundaries, student teams employ a design-thinking process to address
partners’ needs with innovative and creative approaches to a solution. Students are supported in their
proposed solutions with industry, community and academic mentorship.
Through Super Course 1 (September-December) and Super Course 2 (January-April), student teams will
collaboratively move from problem identification, to solution visioning, to solution concept -- culminating in
the creation of a working prototype by each team that addresses a meaningful social, economic or policy
challenge.
The Super Course presents students with unparalleled opportunities to solve a real challenge, with the
tools of their discipline, strategic thinking, and the collaboration of diverse peers from design, media,
computer science, and communications. Students from all schools at CS are represented including:
Fashion, Interior Design, Media Production, Image Arts, Professional Communications, Creative Industries
including students both past and present from Engineering, Computer Science, Business and
Entrepreneurship.
At the end of Super Course 1, projects will be reviewed by members of CS faculty, the applicant
organization and the TAC grant program manager. The decision to move a project to Super Course 2 will
be based on factors including: interest and availability of both the applicant organization and the student
teams; and viability of the prototype in the wider arts sector.
What kinds of projects have Super Course participants worked on in the past?
Ryerson CS Design Solutions Super Course students have worked with the Ontario Ministry of
Transportation on a video-game version of the Driver’s Education Handbook, and a personal concierge app
for hotel guests that allows them to access concierge services at their convenience. Arts projects have
included the following:
A community-engaged arts collective asked for help maintaining digital and in-person connections with their
volunteer staff. Students interviewed volunteers and prototyped a retreat process, monthly support
sessions, and an online tool for sharing updates and information among their volunteer community. One of
the students was then hired by the collective outside of the course to coordinate community involvement
and communications.
An arts service organization identified the need for emerging artists to document their work in an archival,
longer-lasting format above and beyond more transient online representations. The student team
interviewed organizations and emerging artists and designed an awareness campaign. The
organization then hired a graphic design and marketing team to implement the campaign.
Intellectual Property
Intellectual property arising from the funded project will be owned by the people who created it. Intellectual
property that is jointly created by the successful applicant organization and students or faculty of Ryerson
University will be jointly owned. Successful applicants to this program will be granted a non-exclusive,
royalty-free right to use the results of the funded project for non-commercial purposes, including sharing the
results with other Toronto-based not-for-profit arts organizations on a non-commercial basis. Any activities
involving the sale or licensing of the results of the funded project will required an additional legal
agreement.
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